Author Todd Burpo talks ‘Heaven is for Real’

Author Todd Burpo speaks with “Breakthrough Entertainment” about the new motion picture based on his bestselling book “Heaven is for Real.”

Breakthrough Entertainment

Author Todd Burpo recently spoke with “Breakthrough Entertainment” and Phoenix Movie Examiner about the new motion picture based on his bestselling book “Heaven is for Real.”

In “Heaven is for Real,” which opens Wednesday, April 16, Greg Kinnear and Kelly Reilly portray a real-life married couple whose son (Connor Corum) claims to have visited Heaven during a near death experience, recounting the details of his amazing journey with childlike innocence and speaking matter-of-factly about things that happened before his birth.

Listen to “Breakthrough Entertainment” and Phoenix Movie Examiner's full interview with Burpo by clicking on the image above this article. The following is an excerpt from the interview in which the author discusses what he hopes that moviegoers will take away from watching “Heaven is for Real.”

“When you work with issues of faith and life after death and all of those questions that we have all asked, I think that people need to know that no one has all of the answers and there is a struggle in finding the right answers. This movie is going to walk through that struggle. It is a struggle of faith and a struggle of hurting and the struggle of rejoicing and balancing all of those things.

“When I have seen audiences watch this film, I have seen them cry and cheer and everything in between. It is incredible how they connect. I think that everyone is going to watch this family and connect with the mom and the dad and their almost losing a child and the big sister standing up for her little brother. All of that comes into play in this film. But the biggest things that I think people are going to find are hope and peace.

“How can you go into a movie about faith and have an uncompromising message and not be preachy? Have a child tell the story. That is what is going to happen here in movie theaters. He is going to connect with people's hearts. He is going to connect with their heads. He is going to challenge people and give them hope. Hopefully, when people walk out of this movie, they are going to go, ‘Wow!’ That is what I want people to be able to experience.”- Todd Burpo

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Joseph J. Airdo is a producer of and film commentator for "Breakthrough Entertainment," a talk radio show airing 9 a.m.-Noon Saturdays on KPHX 1480 AM that shines a spotlight on the practical perspectives of the topics and themes explored in movies. His outlets also include The Entertainer in print and Examiner.com on the web. E-mail him at joseph.airdo@gmail.com